CHARLTON coach Aaron Walklate says the Navies aren’t feeling the burden of three grand final losses in a row as they prepare for another crack at the North Central flag on Saturday.
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The Navies will meet Wycheproof-Narraport in Saturday’s grand final at St Arnaud’s Lord Nelson Park.
Charlton has endured the heartbreak of three-consecutive close grand final losses by eight points to St Arnaud last year in a game they led late, one point in extra time to Wedderburn in 2014 and 12 points to the Redbacks in 2013 when they had earlier finished on top of the ladder.
“We don’t feel like there’s a monkey on our back this week,” Walklate said.
“You could look at the past three years and say we’ve under-achieved, but some may say we’ve over-achieved with the lists we’ve had.
“We’ve got eight new players in the side compared to last year, so there’s been a fair rollover of players, but still that core group that is obviously very determined.
“We’ll be out there giving it our best on Saturday.”
Charlton’s extended squad of 22 named on Thursday night includes 10 players who have played in the past three grand finals – Aaron and Ben Walklate, Luke Kyriakides, Luke Mulquiny, Joseph McGrath, Anthony Judd, Michael Laffin, Sam O’Connor, Rhys Thompson and Kieran Sait.
Saturday’s grand final comes on the back of what has been a tough week for the Charlton community, which has been impacted by floodwater, while on Thursday night the club’s football and hockey teams had to train using car headlights as the power was out.
The Navies – who took the direct route into the grand final by beating Wycheproof-Narraport by 11 points in the second semi-final – won their last flag in 2009.
Among the 2009 premiership team was Daniel Thiesz, who will skipper Charlton on Saturday in his 200th senior match.
“He’s really important in terms of his on-field leadership and the way he goes about it,” Walklate said.
“He was one of our better players in our back six last game and we’ll be looking for another big one from him on Saturday.”
Wycheproof-Narraport – chasing its first flag since 2010 – has been the standout side this season.
After missing the finals the past two years, the Demons under new coach Julian Bull will take a 16-2 record into the grand final.
Although, one of those two losses was to their grand final combatants on Saturday in the second semi.
The Demons bounced back with a 49-point preliminary final win over Birchip-Watchem last week in a game where they kicked 11 goals to three in the second half after scores had been level at the main break.
“We were disappointing in that first final against Charlton a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t have the even contribution across the team that we have had during the year,” Bull said.
“We got that back in the second half last week and we’ll be looking to springboard off that performance into the grand final.”
Last week’s win was highlighted by a 10-goal haul from superstar Corey Jones, who looms as arguably the biggest X-factor in Saturday’s grand final.
“There’s no doubt Corey’s performance is going to be vital for us, but a lot will depend on what happens up the ground as well,” Bull said.
“If we’re not getting the ball down the forward line then we’re not giving him or the other forwards chances.”
While Jones has been the most dominant forward in the NCFL with 88 goals this season, the Demons also have James Coatsworth (35), Ricky Allan (26), Andrew Mead-Harding (26) and Adrian Pappin (26) who rank among the top 15 goalkickers in the competition.
“We’ve certainly got the goalscorers, so it’s going to be all about getting our structure right and getting enough ball down there,” Bull said.
Sportsbet has the Demons $1.65 favourites and the Navies at $2.15.
THE TEAMS:
Charlton:
B: D. McKay, R. Thompson, K. Sait
Hb: T. Finlay, D. Hayes, D. Thiesz
C: Sam O'Connor, B. Walklate, L. Mulquiny
Hf: J. Sandiford, James McGrath, A. Hooper
F: C. Gunn, Joe McGrath, M. Giri
Foll: T. Nicolson, A. Walklate, J. Ketterer
Inter: (from) M. Laffin, A. Judd, L. Kyriakides, Sean O'Connor
Wycheproof-Narraport:
B: R. White, B. Brennan, S. Allan
Hb: B. Bish, M. Riordan, T. Keane
C: M. Fawcett, T. Holobowski, D. McLennan
Hf: A. Mead-Harding, A. Pappin, J. Coles
F: James Coatsworth, C. Jones, K.Prestidge
R: C. Howgate, R. Allan, C. Burge
Int: J. Turner, N. Elliot, G. Turner
THIS SEASON:
Round 4:
Wycheproof-Narraport
4.7, 4.8, 10.10, 15.13 (103)
Charlton
3.2, 5.6, 8.6, 10.9 (69)
Round 11:
Wycheproof-Narraport
5.3, 11.5, 15.9, 22.11 (143)
Charlton
2.3, 4.6, 7.11, 11.13 (79)
Second semi-final:
Charlton
1.2, 5.8, 8.10, 8.13 (61)
Wycheproof-Narraport
1.4, 5.5, 6.8, 7.8 (50)
TIPPING PANEL
Winner:
Luke West – Wycheproof-Narraport (23).
Adam Bourke – Wycheproof-Narraport (7).
Kieran Iles – Wycheproof-Narraport (13).
Best on ground:
Luke West – Corey Jones (WN).
Adam Bourke – Ricky Allan (WN).
Kieran Iles – Boe Bish (WN).
First goal:
Luke West – James Coatsworth (WN).
Adam Bourke – Adrian Pappin (WN).
Kieran Iles – Cody Gunn (C).
